Spark in the Dark

Chapter 111

Shawn was putting in her earrings when there was a knock at the door. She glanced at the time to see that he was early. She slipped into her heels before going downstairs to answer the door.

"Hey," she greeted him.

"Hi, you look great," Brent told her.

"Thanks. You look..."

"What? What's wrong?"

"You're... I don't know... a little overdressed?"

"We're going to a wedding," he argued. "And you're dressed up."

"Well, that's because I'm a girl. Seriously, all the guys will probably be in jeans."

Brent looked down at his suit. "It's probably too late for me to change."

"I can drive separate," Shawn offered.

"No," Brent said quickly. "It'll be fine. Don't worry about it."

"Okay," Shawn said and stepped out of her house. Brent waited for her as she locked the front door, then laid his hand on the small of her back as they walked to the car. "You could just take off your jacket and tie."

"It's fine," he insisted. "What kind of wedding do the guys wear jeans anyway?"

"A biker one?"

"No, wedding means suit."

"If you say so," Shawn said as Brent opened the door of his black BMW for her. Once she was in he closed the door and went around to the driver's side.

Shawn guided him to the Wahewa reservation and he parked his park with the few other cars that were already there. Brent looked around at some of the people who were already there.

"So," he said hesitantly, "take off the jacket and tie?"

"Maybe roll up the sleeves of your dress shirt, too."

Brent quickly undressed inside the car and tossed his extra clothing into the backseat. Once he was ready, they got out of the car and began to work their way through the crowd that was there.

Juice was standing with Tig and Chibs, talking. Jax stepped over and interrupted them.

"Tig, Shawn's here," Jax told Tig, making Juice tense.

"Where at?" Tig asked and looked around. Jax motioned behind Juice. Tig walked away and Jax remained with Juice and Chibs. Opie also joined them.

"What do we think of Shawn's new boyfriend?" Jax asked Opie and Chibs.

"Haven't met him yet," Chibs informed.

"Me neither. I guess it's still pretty new. This is the first time she's brought him around us. Some of the girls have met him. Lyla doesn't like him."

"Why not?" Juice asked.

Opie shrugged. "Who knows?"

"I know," Gemma said and she joined their group. "He's too damn nice. It's creepy."

Jax rolled his eyes at his mother. "Only you could fault someone for being nice."

"I'm not kidding. Guys like him have dead bodies stacked in their basements," Gemma said. "Seriously, frat boy over there has probably been given everything he's ever wanted in life. He wouldn't even know what to do if someone told him no."

"Stack some more bodies in his basement?" Jax said sarcastically and laughed.

"You laugh, but if they break up, I'm willing to bet you guys end up needing to get involved," Gemma told them.

"Because that has worked so well for us in the past," Opie told her.

Shawn saw her father coming and smiled broadly. "Hi, Dad!"

"Shawnie," Tig said and lifted her as he hugged her. "What? You can't come see your old man while he's in the pen?"

"Why would I? You look the same," Shawn joked.

"Well, you look different. Let me look at ya," Tig said and stepped back. He looked her over and then kissed her cheek. "You look great, baby. This must be the boyfriend?"

"This is Brent," Shawn introduced him to Tig.

"It's nice to finally meet you, sir," Brent said and stuck out his hand to shake Tig's.

Tig reluctantly took his hand. "Why does he want to hold my hand?"

"Oh, I wasn't-" Brent started to explain.

"Dad, stop. You know he's shaking your hand."

Tig shook his hand back briefly and let it go. "You can call me Tig. I only make hookers call me sir."

"He's kidding," Shawn quickly told Brent.

"No, I'm not," Tig denied it.

Shawn saw Jax approaching them and was relieved for a distraction. "Jax!"

"Hey, kid," Jax said and hugged her. "I don't know how to tell you this, but you're bald."

"You should talk," Shawn replied. "I still have a few inches left. I can barely touch yours."

"How long ago did you cut it?"

"It's been like 5 months? Uh, Jax. This is Brent. Brent, this is one of my best friends, Jackson."

"Hi, nice to meet you," Brent told him, but didn't try to shake his hand this time.

"Likewise," Jax said without giving him a second glance. Jax may have given his mother a hard time over her dislike of Shawn's boyfriend, but he was smart enough to listen to her.

When Jax had walked away from Juice and the others, Juice finally chanced a glance over his shoulder and felt like he couldn't breath. Her hair was shorter. It had once gone down her back and now rested right above her shoulders. The shorter length make the curls in her hair look more defined. He watched them all talk, waiting for her to see him. And eventually she did.

Shawn looked around and found herself looking back at Juice for the first time in over a year. Lyla was right about him growing out his hair. It was longer than Shawn had ever seen it. He had also let his facial hair grow, but not by much.

"So you ready to give your maid of honor speech?" Jax asked.

"What?" Shawn asked in a panic, finally looking away from Juice after a few seconds. "Lyla said we weren't doing that."

Jax smirked and Shawn realized he was messing with her. She smacked his arm as Piney approached them.

"The bride is asking for her maid of honor," Piney informed her.

"That's me," she said and turned to Brent. "I'll see you a little later?"

"Yeah, see you," he said and bent to kiss her cheek. As he straightened, Shawn realized he was glaring passed her and she didn't need to look to know who the look was meant for. Tig and Jax were oblivious of Shawn and Juice, but Brent had noticed their exchange of lingering looks.

Shawn wasn't sure how she felt about Brent using the kiss to stake his claim on her, but couldn't say anything at that moment. She followed Piney down the aisle of motorcycles, out of sight from the rest of the party, where a small building containing only a bathroom stood. She knocked lightly on the door and heard Lyla's voice let her know it was okay to come in.

"I'll just wait here," Piney told her as she opened the door and stepped in.